Foolishness?

There's a verse in I Corinthians (1:18, to be exact) that reads, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 

This is full of meaning--practical meaning--and truth. We that not only consider ourselves believers but have allowed the gospel to fill and shape our lives understand what it means. Yet the concept of the cross, of its sacrifice and of the power of that sacrifice and of the resurrection, sound like a silly tale to many people. The notion of such a thing is strange to some people because they don't acknowledge the need for such an event. To believers, it's not silly. To believers, the crucifixion and the resurrection are God's greatest work, and, according to scriptures, it's something that He planned from the beginning of time.

Reflecting on this fills me with an awe and wonder that I cannot describe. God's power, focused on one moment in time, accomplished a feat that could be accomplished in no other way. It's magnitude is not lost on me. This event will continue to cascade throughout time and eternity and will never be eclipsed, never overshadowed, by any other thing. There is nothing else that will ever command the awe and wonder that the cross commands, and those who fail to bow to its purpose will spend eternity regretting that decision.

Phillips, Craig and Dean recorded a song, "Crucified with Christ", that codifies this feeling for myself and many others. It testifies to the awe-inspiring work found in the cross and the desire it creates in believers to sacrifice our own lives daily, not on a Roman cross, but in relinquishing our will to see His will done.

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 As I look back on what I thought was living
I'm amazed at the price I chose to pay
And to think I ignored what really mattered
'Cause I thought the sacrifice would be too great
But when I finally reached the point of giving in
I found the cross was calling even then
And even though it took dying to survive
I've never felt so much alive.

For I am crucified with Christ and yet I live
Not I but Christ that lives within me
His Cross will never ask for more than I can give
For its not my strength but His
There's no greater sacrifice
For I am crucified with Christ

and yet I live

As I hear the Savior call for daily dying
I will bow beneath the weight of Calvary
Let my hands surrender to His piercing purpose
That holds me to the cross yet sets me free
I will glory in the power of the cross
The things I thought were gain I count as loss
And with His suffering I identify
And by His resurrection power I am alive

And I will offer all I have
So that His cross is not in vain
For I found to live is Christ
And to die is truly gain

© 1995 by Randy Phillips, Denise Phillips, Dave Clark and Don Koch. From the Phillips, Craig and Dean album, "Trust".